As we near the festive period, the spirit of Christmas is really starting to take over. People are busy baking cookies, buying presents, and adorning their homes and workplaces with twinkling Christmas lights. In a few short days, the intensity of light in American suburbs will reach blinding levels.
It’s safe to say that Americans are obsessed with Christmas lights – so much, in fact, that we buy 150 million of them every year! What’s even more surprising is that, according to NASA, the glittering Christmas lights are even visible from space during the holiday season!
However, while Christmas lights do give your home a festive and lively look, they can leave you deeply out of pocket. Over the course of this blog post, we will discuss how Christmas lights impact your energy bills, and what you can do to mitigate this impact.
Let’s Bring Some Stats to the Table
Generally, holiday lights first start appearing around the Black Friday Weekend, and glow brightly right on to New Year’s Eve. Most people get so busy enjoying this extra dose of twinkling holiday cheeriness that we forget to think about the cost it comes at. According to Inside Energy, the electricity bill of an American home decorated with holiday lights goes up by an average of $5834.
Want a stat that will truly boggle your mind? Check this out: Christmas lighting in the U.S consume around 6.63 billion kilowatts of electricity every year. That is more than the entire electricity consumption of countries like El Salvador, Ethiopia, and Tanzania!
Incandescent Lights: The Major Culprit
The primary culprit behind these outrageous stats is the traditional incandescent holiday lights, particularly the bigger bulbs. Just a single string of 25 large incandescent bulbs consumes around 175 watts of electricity. In other words, just a single string of Christmas lights costs $15.12 on average in electricity per season.
Consider Using LED Holiday Lights
Using LED holiday lights can help you make major savings on your electricity bills. According to the Department of Energy, LED lights consume 70% less energy compared to traditional incandescent light bulbs. If you convert these energy savings into money, you’ll discover that decorating your Christmas tree with LED lights will cost you just 27 cents over an entire season. Using incandescent light bulbs, on the other hand, will cost you over $10.
Get Your Home Wiring Inspected by a Pro Electrician
Christmas lights can drive your energy bills even higher if your home’s wiring and/or outlets are damaged or old. Its best to get a trusted electrician to inspect your home wiring before you put up Christmas lights.
From a complete home inspection, electrical wiring upgrades and outlet repairs to smart home system installations and home generator installations, we cover it all! Get in touch with us for more information about our 24 hour emergency services or schedule our electrical service online, today!